Shloka 38

भीष्मस्य अप्रतिमपराक्रमः — शिखण्डिपुरस्कृतः प्रहारः

Bhīṣma’s unmatched momentum and the assault with Śikhaṇḍin in the lead

Devanagari script

पीड्यमानो बलवता पुत्रस्तव विशाम्पते । विव्याध समरे पार्थ कड्कपत्रै: शिलाशितै:

Transliteration

sañjaya uvāca |

pīḍyamāno balavatā putras tava viśāmpate |

vivyādha samare pārtha kaṅkapatraiḥ śilāśitaiḥ ||

prajānātha! balavān arjunakena pīḍitaḥ san tava putraḥ śāṇopacchinnaiḥ tīkṣṇīkṛtaiḥ kaṅkapatrayuktaiḥ bāṇaiḥ samara-bhūmau tān kuntīkumārān vivyādha |

Translation

三阇耶说道：人民之主、众人之王啊！虽被强大的阿周那逼迫，你的儿子在激战之中仍以羽翎如鹭、箭镞经石磨锐的利箭，射中普利塔之子帕尔塔。

Word by Word

• पीड्यमानः: being afflicted/pressed
• पीड्यमानः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पीड् (धातु)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular, वर्तमानकाले कर्मणि-प्रत्ययः (शानच्), passive present participle

• बलवता: by the strong (one)
• बलवता: Karana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: बलवत्
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Instrumental, Singular

• पुत्रः: son
• पुत्रः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुत्र
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• तव: of you/your
• तव: Adhikarana
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: युष्मद्
• Form: Genitive, Singular, Second

• विशाम्पते: O lord of the people
• विशाम्पते: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: विशाम्पति
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• विव्याध: pierced
• विव्याध: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: व्यध् (धातु)
• Form: Perfect (लिट्), Third, Singular, Parasmaipada

• समरे: in battle
• समरे: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: समर
• Form: Masculine, Locative, Singular

• पार्थम्: Partha (Arjuna)
• पार्थम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: पार्थ
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• कङ्कपत्रैः: with heron-feathered (arrows)
• कङ्कपत्रैः: Karana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कङ्कपत्र
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Instrumental, Plural

• शिलाशितैः: sharpened on a whetstone
• शिलाशितैः: Karana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शिलाशित
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Instrumental, Plural, भूतकाले कर्मणि-प्रत्ययः (क्त), 'sharpened'

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Dhṛtarāṣṭra (implied by vocatives viśāmpate/prajānātha)
• Arjuna
• Duryodhana (implied by 'your son' in Bhīṣma Parva battle narration)
• Pārtha (epithet)
• Arrows (bāṇa)
• Battlefield (samara)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the kṣatriya impulse to respond with steadfast resistance even when overwhelmed. Ethically, it points to the tragic momentum of war: injury provokes counter-injury, and personal valor operates within a larger conflict whose consequences entangle all sides.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that, although Arjuna is powerfully pressing him, Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s son retaliates on the battlefield by piercing Pārtha with stone-sharpened, heron-feathered arrows.